Thinker George Corm (1940-2024) .. The interaction of economics and politics in a changing world

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On Wednesday, August 14, 2024, George Corm, the prominent Lebanese thinker in politics and economics, passed away at the age of eighty-four.

Qarm was a distinguished expert in the economic and financial fields, specializing in the issues of the Middle East and the Mediterranean countries. He provided consultations to many international institutions and financial and banking companies, and was an active member of many research and study centers.

Despite his responsibilities as a financial expert, minister and university professor, this did not deter him from his commitment to intellectual and writing issues, as he continued to interact with current political and cultural issues in depth and with remarkable contribution.

Within the framework of the series of scientific lectures organized by the Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco in Rabat, in preparation for its thirty-fourth session “From Modernity to Modernities,” the thinker George Corm gave a valuable lecture entitled: “How to get out of the problem of authenticity and modernity?” In it, he highlighted that the fragmentation that is sweeping the Arab world was largely due to the exaggerated focus on trying to solve the equation of reconciling modernity and authenticity, considering that the belief in the ability of this balance to get the nation out of its current crisis is a simplification that distorts the reality.

Should the societies of the Arab East and North Africa focus their horizon of thinking on trying to achieve a balance between modernity and authenticity, or is this endeavor a waste of time and will not lead to tangible results that have an impact on society and the individual? Is the progress of the Arabs and their liberation from backwardness inevitably linked to the separation of religion and state, as the “modernists” demand, or are there other alternatives that can contribute to this progress? These are some of the questions that George Corm has considered in depth and turned over their tributaries.

The lecture was a special moment, an occasion rich in knowledge and profound benefit.

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In his book “The Religious Question in the Twenty-First Century,” George Corm addresses the issue of modern totalitarian violence, tracing its roots and observing the religious wars that accompanied the Reformation in Europe, thus opposing the prevailing view in French and American culture in the 1980s and beyond, which traces this violence back to the French Revolution and the well-known events that followed. George Corm criticizes the narratives that celebrate the return of religion and consider it a natural result of “the collapse of secular ideologies, represented by the disappearance of Marxism.” He expresses a contrary opinion, considering that the “return of religion” is nothing more than “a major political phenomenon that bears only the name of religion,” as it is not linked to any noticeable development in religious doctrine in terms of theology or politics, or in any form of expressions of faith.

How did the religious phenomenon capture the world’s attention?

This question formed the title of the first and most important chapter – in my opinion – of the book “The Religious Question in the Twenty-First Century”; this is because the religious phenomenon has witnessed increasing interest in various parts of the world over the past decades, as a result of several main factors, the most important of which are:

Geopolitical transformations: There has been an increase in international and regional crises and conflicts that have a religious character or use religion as a means of asserting national and ethnic identities. These conflicts have attracted wide global attention and have contributed to strengthening every dialogue about religion in politics and economics.

Conflicting ideologies: As the influence of traditional secular ideologies declined, some religious movements began to emerge as influential forces in the political and social arenas; the collapse of communist regimes at the end of the twentieth century led to the emergence of religious movements as major drivers of social and political change in many countries.

Globalization and multiculturalism: Globalization has led to increased interaction between cultures and religions, which has increased interest in religion as a key element contributing to the understanding of multiculturalism and coexistence between different societies. In this context, religion has become an integral part of the global dialogue on identity and culture.

Identity Challenges: In an era of economic and social turmoil, religion has become an important factor in the search for identity and belonging. Many individuals and communities turn to religion as a means to affirm their identity and confront challenges of any kind or status.

With this conception, George Corm’s analyses throughout this research were linked to clarifying many of the concepts and ideas related to identity, culture and civilization in relation to perceptions of religion, history, philosophy and the organization of the city, at least from the perspective of the emergence of the ideology of neo-conservatism and the phenomenon of the return of religion since George Corm began preparing his thesis on the impact of religious pluralism on political systems in the Mediterranean basin. It was later published in 1977 by Dar Al-Nahar in Beirut under the title “Religious Pluralism and Governance Systems.” However, the choice of this topic was dictated to George Corm by the fate of Lebanon, whose early openness to European modernity since the end of the seventeenth century brought upon it social, political and cultural suffering.

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There is no doubt that the book “The Religious Question in the Twenty-First Century” is one of the most important works that dealt with the subject of religion and its impact on societies in the modern era, due to the depth of its thesis in addressing the issues of the role of religion in shaping societal identity, religious conflicts, Islamophobia, and non-Christian religions in Europe and elsewhere. However, the most important thing that caught my attention was George Corm’s call to establish a “secular charter,” borrowing an expression from Jean Baubérot in his book Vers un nouveau pacte laïque, which would contribute to putting an end to the explosive mixture of identity lava and the collapse of international morality, as he put it. Hence, George Corm does not hesitate to say that the forces that today claim guardianship over the “international community” are always working against this openness, despite the false discourses it contains. Practically and theoretically, it promotes everything that contributes to establishing the “Empire of Chaos” as a model of global governance, through dismantling states, igniting civil wars, violating political sovereignty, causing secessions, escalating sectarianism and ethnicity, and resorting to and exploiting religion.

Thus, George Corm’s book addresses the pressing issues of our contemporary world in an integrated, systematic manner, based on in-depth scientific research that reveals their complex dimensions.

A book worth reading. Let’s think about it; and until next time.